Paul v. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSP., STATE

Opinion of the Court by

LEVINSON, J.

The appellee-appellant State of Hawai'i Department of Transportation (DOT) appeals from the March 18, 2005 judgment on appeal of the third circuit court, the Honorable Ronald Ibarra presiding, entered in favor of the respondent-appellant-appellee Annie Paul and against the DOT.

The director of the DOT [hereinafter, “the director”] had earlier: (1) adopted the recommended order of a DOT administrative hearings officer (AHO), following a contested-ease hearing in which the AHO found and concluded that Paul had failed to perform vehicle safety inspections in…